I recently came across the work of the ceramic artist Adam Buick. His work embodies the graceful beauty that I strive towards in some of my own pieces and I greatly admire his ability to create calm and gentle forms.
“Adam Buick has imposed on himself the strict discipline of the simplest and purest of geometric forms. Don’t expect his spheres of fired clay to be standoffish or predictable though. Yes Adam makes white porcelain moon jars as chaste in their beauty as the old Korean dal-hang-a-ri vessels that first inspired him. But within the confines of his spherical ‘canvas’ he also conjures up worlds of spontaneous drama, pots so diverse in their scale and texture, so exquisite in their making, so alive with the Pembrokeshire landscape which they literally embody, that his passionate connection to his environment becomes unmistakable.”
Adam’s work centers on traditional oriental moon jars, the round form and interesting history. They were made in ancient times to represent the full moon, and held special flowers or wine.
Adam takes the form, and meaning of the moon jar and pushes it further, playing with size as well as texture and color. He glazes many of his pieces in a haphazard method by splashing or throwing slip and glaze onto the bisqueware and then firing them in a wood kiln. He also scales up the size and creates jars that are more like cauldrons, able to fit several people inside. You can watch the methodical creation of these pots here.
